Chris Brazzell II Prospect Profile
Background
Chris Brazzell II was born in Fort Worth, Texas, before his family relocated to Midland, where football was in the blood. His father, Chris Sr., was a sixth-round pick of the New York Jets in 1998 and played professionally for nine years between the NFL and the CFL. Brazzell II starred at Midland Legacy High School, finishing his senior season with 52 catches for 859 yards and 12 touchdowns, and signed with Tulane as a consensus three star prospect. A shoulder injury cut his true freshman year short, but he bounced back in 2023 to lead the Green Wave with 44 catches for 711 yards and five touchdowns, earning Freshman All-American honors. When Tulane's coaching staff left for Houston, he entered the portal and landed at Tennessee, where a quiet first season gave way to a breakout 2025. He led the entire SEC in receiving yards with 1,017, earned first-team All-SEC and third-team AP All-America honors, and declared for the 2026 NFL Draft in December, degree in hand.
Physical Attributes
Brazzell measured in at 6'4" and 198 lbs at the combine. With that, he ran a deceptive 4.37 40-yard dash. I say deceptive because while he obviously has speed, he has never shown that kind of speed on the field. Given how lanky he is, it is no surprise that he was not the strongest receiver either, and he was relatively easily pushed off routes. He showed some very solid deceleration ability, combined with decent agility for his size.
Data and Tape Analysis
If you are unfamiliar with my WR radar charts, you can find more information here
Big disclaimer up front: the Tennessee offense. Everyone by now knows that looking at a player in Josh Huepel's system and attempting to draw any solid conclusions for a player within it at the next level is a fool's errand. Like astrology or tarot reading. However, I am a fool, and I have tasked myself with doing just that, so here it goes.
First lets talk about the things that would have been difficult to accomplish in Brazzell's role. Missed tackles forced and his YAC per reception were definitely limited by the types of routes he ran. There were a ton of outs, and go balls, and very few of anything else, barring the occasional dig or screen. That being said, when given the opportunity to work with the ball in his hands, he does not.
That is the crux of my problem with Brazzell. He is a 6'4" 4.37 guy who does not use his physical gifts differently than a 6'0" 4.5 guy; outside of his amazing catch radius, when open. With the ball in his hands, especially, none of his athletic gifts shine. You would think with his size advantage, he would win contested catches against smaller DBs, yet he does not, because so much as a stiff breeze throws him yards off his route.
Again, for all the speed he has, creating separation on routes predicated on speed never seems to happen. He can occasionally use his deceleration and decent agility to make some space, but occasionally. When open, his catch radius is fantastic, but unless he is schemed open in the NFL like he was at Tennessee, I do not know where he will win.
Grade and Outlook
Maybe I will be wrong, and Brazzell can figure out how to use his athletic ability and combine it with improved technical skills, but he reminds me of a former Jets WR, and not his father, Stephen Hill.
Grade: 4.5 (4th Rounder)
